It’s a question that makes me think of the British comedy band Monty Python’s ‘Life of Brian’. In it is a famous scene in which a group protests against Roman rule, demanding the departure of the Romans, under the pretext that they did not bring any benefit, only tyranny:
‘What did the Romans do for us?
Aqueducts.
Okay, and what else?
Irrigation system.
Okay, something else?
The roads.
Obviously the roads. Anything else?
Medicine, education?
Ok, ok, but apart from aqueducts, irrigation, roads, medicine, education, what did the Romans do for us?
Public baths. In addition, we can walk the streets safely now.
Okay, but beyond the irrigation system, public health, education, roads, public toilets, safety, what have the Romans ever done for us?
They brought peace! ‘
It’s the same with multinational companies. I often hear people complaining about these companies. But, if we admit it, these companies brought a lot, especially on a rather virgin land in the ‘90s in Romania:
– good practices, know-how, efficient processes, and systems for practically all the functions of a business – financial, marketing, sales, supply chain, human resources etc.
– learning and development opportunities for employees
– career development opportunities
– a carefully supervised, audited legal framework
– multiple, diverse and interesting extra-salary benefits for different categories of employees
– a good working environment, rather comfortable
– exposure to multicultural interactions and diversity of age, gender, experience, and so on
– important contribution to GDP through taxes and duties
– quality standards in the relationship with customers and suppliers – we can say that they have grown and educated the market
Of course, there are always going to be a few bad apples in every bunch. There will be good and bad everywhere. But before sprinkling with criticism, perhaps it is good to think of the words of a very important man: ‘let the one who never made a mistake throw the stone first!’